Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md has introduced a bill that would require the government and the private sector to require minimum cybsersecurity standards for devices that connect to the Internet.
the Internet and Cybersecurity Safety Standards Act would require top government officials to determine the cost-effectiveness of requiring Internet service providers and others to develop and enforce cybersecurity safety standards, according to a press statement from Cardin's office. Cardin is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee.
The bill also requires officials -- including Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano, attorney general Eric Holder, and Commerce secretary Gary Locke -- to consider the effect the standards would have on homeland security, the global economy, innovation, individual liberty, and privacy.
Here's Cardin's full Press Release. Keep a vomit bucket nearby.
Maryland is at the center of our nation’s cybersecurity efforts. The new United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), was established in June of last year, and is located at Ft. Meade, MD. More than 50 key security and intelligence federal facilities and 12 major military installations are or will soon be located in our state, and combined, these facilities and installations will employ nearly 200,000 well-educated, highly-skilled government employees and contractors in cutting-edge research and development, as well as important scientific, medical and technological innovations. In total, Maryland has one of the highest concentrations of technology jobs in the nation, and led the nation in 2009 with the largest growth in computer systems design jobs.